


Intoxicated

by Sitrus



Series: arcana stuff [1]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Coughing, Fever, I almost forgot to tag that lol, I may have taken some liberties with his character but it should still be recognizable as him, Other, Sickfic, Sneezing, a hypothetical post-game setting, basically lucio has a cold and handles it so well, he has to get half of vesuvia to get drunk with him, imagine what you want, just a tad bit more mature lmao, no gendered references to the MC, the plague was a traumatic experience for lucio like how could it not have been, there are some minor references to stuff related to that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23990275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sitrus/pseuds/Sitrus
Summary: You return from a trip to an empty home and a rumor of someone having thrown a party at the palace in the countess' absence. The rumor also says that someone is Lucio, but the whole thing might just be a distraction he's set for himself to avoid resurfacing memories he would very much like to forget.
Relationships: Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana), Lucio (The Arcana)/Reader
Series: arcana stuff [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756987
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So.  
> Like the tags say, this is set in a hypothetical upright ending situation where Lucio fixes his shit and moves out of the palace to live with the MC elsewhere in Vesuvia. I may have written him more mature than he is in the game but lets just call that character growth lmao

Lucio isn’t home when you return. It’s not odd and you didn’t exactly expect to find him there either but somewhere on the back of your mind you had hoped the word of your return would have carried all the way to him. You have been gone only for a week but Lucio _does_ have a habit of welcoming you back in a fashion that makes it seem like every cell of his body had been yearning for you from the moment you set foot outside the city…

You drop your bag by the door and go get yourself some water. The place is less of a mess than you would have expected it to be, and you don’t even need to do the dishes just to have something clean to have a drink from. The pitcher you keep drinking water in is empty, though. You leave it be and go change your travel worn clothes and wash yourself in the bathroom. It’s refreshing to be dressed in clean clothes after a week on the road, and the weariness of travel starts to really set in. You consider working a bit on the house but you figure you have enough time to go lie down on the bed and rest for a bit before you tackle the tasks Lucio has clearly neglected to do.

The sun is starting to set by the time you wake up. You don’t remember having fallen asleep nor had you planned to take a nap. You still feel a little groggy as you get up and you can definitely feel the week on the road weigh down on you, but the nap did do some good. It doesn’t take you long to notice Lucio still hasn’t returned. That and the acute lack of drinking water in the house makes you put on your shoes, grab your jacket and make your way to the nearby tavern. Even after all that happened, Lucio remains his party-loving self and the people at the tavern don’t seem to mind that. Even if you don’t find him there, you might find someone who knows where he’s gone.

The tavern is surprisingly quiet when you enter. You can immediately tell Lucio isn’t there, but you also fail to spot some of the other frequent visitors.

“Where is he?” you ask from the bartender as you get a beer (you don’t trust their water as much as you trust their beer) and glance around you again. The bartender lets out a small laugh in response.

“You haven’t heard?” he asks. You shake your head as he hands you the beer. 

“There’s a party at the palace. Rumour says Lucio’s behind that.”

Huh. That sounds like something Lucio would attempt to do with both Nadia and you out of the city, but you would have expected the palace staff to have more sense than to go along with his plans. Clearly not. You drink the beer slowly as you chat with the barkeep and other familiar faces. If Lucio is partying at the palace, a few minutes here or there won’t make a difference.

You can see scattered evidence of an ongoing party the moment you arrive at the palace gates. You are let in without a word, and as you walk past the mess Lucio and his guests have left outside the actual building (including some obviously drunk people passed out here and there) you get the feeling the party hasn’t just started… It doesn’t look any better inside but at least you don’t need to wonder where the party’s at. All you need to do is follow the stream of drunken people and party debris and, as you get closer to the heart of it all, the loud chattering and music. The party is still going hard, it seems, despite the state in which most of the guests you see are.

The door is open when you reach one of the smaller rooms the party is currently at. No one seems to notice your arrival and you stay by the door to take in the scene in front of you. There are some people dancing in the middle of the room and others chatting closer to the edges of it. A few of the more intoxicated guests seem to have passed out near the walls, or are slumped on whatever chairs are in the room. Lucio is among them, reclined on the fanciest seat present and clearly doing his best to stay conscious. He isn’t doing a very good job at that until something makes him stir and he suddenly snaps to his side with a drunken, haphazard sneeze. He sits up a little straighter and sneezes again, this time into his golden hand.

He’s trying to blink his drunken gaze into focus as you circle around the guests and furniture to get to him. He doesn’t notice you until you shout a greeting over the noise in the room but the moment your voice registers into his consciousness, he’s up on his feet and surprisingly steady.

“You are back!” he shouts, voice rough from partying for what you can tell. He looks increasingly shaky on his feet with every passing moment and he’s clearly having a hard time focusing his eyes on yours, but he’s trying. He looks like he’s been partying for days with his glassy eyes, messy hair and flushed face. Something about him seems off and you can’t tell if it’s all just due to the partying or if there’s something else weighing down on him.

“How long has this party been going on..?” you ask. He grabs you by your arms and his lips pull into a wide smile.

“Who cares, it’s a party! Parties are fun. We are having fun!” he says with drunken cheer, but something about his tone, or maybe his expression, seems off even before he pulls you into a very Lucio-like embrace and a hungry kiss. His lips are hot against yours and his body envelopes you with feverish heat. He has some trouble breathing through his nose thanks to apparent congestion.

“You are hot.” The words spill out of your mouth the moment he pulls away from the kiss, and you can tell from the grin on his face you should have chosen a different expression.

“And you only notice now?!” he exclaims in mock surprise. “My dashing looks should be known through the world by now.”

He strikes a pose and almost loses his balance. You grab him by his non-prosthetic arm and pull him against your side, holding him there to keep him steady.

“Sure they are, but that is not what I meant”, you say and lock your eyes with his, giving him a stern look. His smile doesn’t falter but you can clearly see the poorly masked discomfort under his cheeriness. “I’m pretty sure you are running a fever.”

For a second he looks almost hurt, maybe even scared. He blinks his eyes slowly a couple of times before recovering from your shocking words. Even though his expression goes back to normal, the chuckle he lets out is oddly nervous.

“What? No! No, I just… I’m bh--bursting wh--with p-hh...” Lucio’s voice trails off with hitchy breaths. His nose has ironic timing. You watch as he struggles with the itch, clearly unsure whether or not he wants to will the impending sneeze away or to bring it out and be done with it. His drunken or otherwise intoxicated sneezes tend to be like this when they don’t hit him with no warning at all. You wait patiently for the situation to resolve itself and finally he snaps forward with a small fit of sneezes. He manages to cover maybe half of them. He sniffles deeply and pinch-wipes his nose before lowering his hand. He looks irritated, presumably with his own lack of control and grace.

“...bursting with party spirit”, he finishes his sentence in a subdued voice.

“Clearly you are”, you say as you turn him toward the door and start guiding him out of the room. 

“I think this party’s gone on for long enough.”

Surprisingly, he doesn’t put up a fight. You consider your options as you walk down the hallway; the idea of getting a nearly too-drunk-to-stand Lucio through the city and to your shared house sounds like more trouble than you have energy for, but you also have a feeling Lucio threw the party for his own distraction. You aren’t sure if waking up sick in the palace would bring up too many bad memories for him. In the end you stop the first member of the palace staff you see to ask if there’s a room the two of you could use for the night. In the current circumstances you doubt permission to stay is a problem, but you aren’t sure if the guests have had access to the bedrooms or if they, or Lucio himself, have left them in a useable condition.

You are in luck. Not much later the same servant returns to tell you a room is ready for the two of you. They look nervous as they guide you to the guest bedrooms, stealing glances at Lucio as they walk and as they dig out their keys to unlock the door to what is to be your room. Lucio hasn’t said a thing since you left the party and he’s avoided looking at any people you pass by. He’s party mood is clearly gone, replaced by both drunken and sick weariness. You consider elbowing him on his side to get him to thank the kind servant but decide against it, thanking them yourself instead. You guide Lucio inside and close the door behind you.

Lucio has started undressing on his own. His trousers lie on the floor next to him but his shirt buttons seem to give him a little too much trouble. You walk up to him and push his hands aside to unbutton enough buttons for him to be able to pull the shirt off. He looks at you dazedly, swaying on his feet enough to make your job more difficult. Once you are done with the buttons he raises his arms instead of grabbing the shirt, and looks at you with what you assume is an attempt at a seductive smile. With his eyes puffy from the alcohol and presumably lack of sleep, lips parted for easier breathing and a general look of intoxication, the end result is not very seductive. Regardless you humour him with a smile of your own as you pull the shirt over his head and push him toward the bed. He’s still looking at you with the same expression but a sudden coughing fit makes him grow more serious. The fit itself isn’t bad but the cough sounds wet and uncomfortable. This isn’t the first time you see him sick after all that went down and you know how badly he tends to take it.

“How are you holding up?” you ask after a while of silence. Lucio’s sitting on the bed with his elbows propped on his legs and face buried in his hands. He presses his fingers against his eyes for a moment before giving them a rub.

“Drunk”, he says without looking up.

Lucio flops down on the bed and you move to sit next to him. His voice sounds different in the quiet room, the roughness more obvious and congestion more pronounced. You watch him in silence as he lies there, his chest moving along with his drunkenly heavy breaths. His brows are furrowed under his non-prosthetic arm which covers most of his forehead and eyes, and from this angle you can see how he definitely needs a handkerchief... You should also get him to drink some water, his partying rarely involves any non-alcoholic liquids.

There’s a pitcher full of water and two glasses on the nightstand and a stack of handkerchiefs on another table. Either someone has known to prepare the room for your current needs or the staff has taken to stocking the guest rooms with a large supply of handkerchiefs. Regardless of that, you thank the servant from before in your mind as you move the stack next to the bed and pour a glass of water for Lucio. He seems to have dozed off on the bed and you shake him awake to hand him the drink and a handkerchief. He startles back to consciousness, eyes darting from one thing to another before he catches up with what’s happening. You help him sit up and make sure he doesn’t spill any water.

“We’ll have a talk about all this tomorrow”, you tell him when he hands the glass back. He makes a face of displeasure but doesn’t try to argue. “You need to sober up first.”

He snorts with laughter, then hastily wipes his nose with the handkerchief.

“You think I’m going to be sober tomorrow?” he chuckles and leans closer to plant a kiss on your cheek before ducking away to cough. It’s another small fit but this time it doesn’t lower his spirits.

“I’m far from being sober tomorrow.”

“Sure you are”, you say and push him back to a lying position. He obediently lets you pull the covers over him. He’s drunk and exhausted enough to pass out almost immediately but you sit beside him just in case for while longer before leaving to room to see if you can do something about the still ongoing party...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's posting unedited crap once again? this time it's even worse than usual lmao

You wake up in the middle of the night to a suffocating heat. It takes you a moment to gather what’s causing it; Lucio has wrapped himself around your body and piled all the blankets on top and is now snoring against your chest. As sweet as it is, the cocoon of feverish heat he has created is too much for you. You try to push him off of you but he only tightens his hold. You try again but all you manage to do is wake him up. He doesn’t move away though, instead making sure his arms and legs are wrapped around you properly.

“Lucio, move. I’m suffocating”, you say and give him another push. You get a small shake of his head as a response. “I’m serious. I’ll get a heat stroke if you don’t move.”

He lets out a displeased grunt and buries his face into your chest. You nudge him again.

“But I don’t want to move”, he says, voice barely louder than a whisper and full of congestion. He sniffles and snorts against your skin. “Can’t you magic yourself comfortable?”

“I’m trying to sleep, Lucio.”

He doesn’t respond. Instead he rubs his nose against you, and you feel his brows draw together and breath grow shallow. Before you can do anything about it, he’s already sneezing. It’s wet. And disgusting. You only realise he was holding a handkerchief the whole time when he shifts to wipe both his own nose and you. There’s an attempted sniffle but the congestion doesn’t budge.

“Just blow your nose”, you tell him. He cracks open an eye and you see him pout at you in the darkness.

“You would hear me be disgusting”, he says and you can’t help but scoff.

“And getting snot all over me is not disgusting?”

Lucio calls you mean and turns his back to you. He tries to blow his nose quietly as first but he’s too congested for it to make a difference. He has no choice but to give his nose a proper blow. He’s still at it when you drift back to sleep.

When you wake up properly the next time, it’s already the morning. Lucio’s sleep has been restless the whole night and on several occasions his tossing and turning almost woke you up. Sometimes it was the cough, or the sneezes. Each time you drifted back to sleep before you could wake all the way up.

Lucio’s sprawled on the bed on his stomach with his face turned your way and one leg over yours. At the moment his dreams don’t seem restless and the soft morning light creates a peaceful atmosphere in the room. You feel calm and content in the moment, your lips pulling into a small smile as you watch Lucio sleep. He still looks exhausted, which is no surprise after the restless night, and sick. The feverish flush from the evening is now accompanied by a tinge of red on his nose. Or more than a tinge. You squint to see through the lingering sleepiness. Maybe you could find him a healing balm of some kind in the palace, for keeping the skin around his nostrils from drying more or getting raw. That’s something Lucio can get very dramatic about… 

You ease yourself off the bed carefully, as not to wake Lucio up, and collect his dirty handkerchiefs. He doesn’t reach to the movement in any way so you drop the hankies by the door and leave the room to go gather things you may need. You don’t want to leave Lucio alone for too long so you try to be quick, but doing all you wished to do still takes some time. You ask someone to bring you more handkerchiefs just in case, then check if the party has successfully ended before heading to the kitchen. You get a few sideways glances as you go through their herbs and spices to find anything of use but no one tries to stop you as you take what you want, including a small teapot full of hot water, a cup, and a pile of cookies.

Lucio’s awake when you return. He lies on his back and stares at the ceiling with unblinking eyes, shivering slightly. The blankets are within his reach and he could easily pull one over himself but he doesn’t. You walk to the bed and set your things on the nightstand and on the floor, then sit down on the bed. Lucio turns to look at you when you press a hand on his forehead to check his fever.

“You seem a little out of it”, you say and brush your fingers over his cheek. He stares at you for a while, brows drawing together in contemplation.

“I woke up and I… I thought I…” he doesn’t finish the sentence, his words trailing off to nothing as his expression turns more painful and he shakes his head. He closes his eyes and turns on his side, curling up against your leg.

“I don’t want to think”, he says.

You don’t push it. You can guess what this is about so there’s no need for him to finish his thoughts. You put your hand on his head and comb your fingers through his tousled hair, gently massaging his scalp as you do so. It’s something he usually enjoys but you can’t be sure it’s what he needs right now. He doesn’t protest (or otherwise give much of a reaction) so you continue.

“Just kill me”, Lucio rasps out after a long while. He turns on this back and dramatically throws his non-prosthetic arm over his face. “Or my head will do it first.”

You huff out a small laugh at his antics and turn towards the supplies you got earlier. You are tempted to point out the irony of his words but decide against it. Instead you go through the herbs and spices you brought, throwing various things in the cup. You reheat the water with magic and pour it over the other ingredients. You stir the drink carefully and set it down on the nightstand. 

“You are hungover, not dying”, you say. “And I’ve got something that should help with that.”

Lucio moves his arm just enough to peek at you from underneath it. You nod toward the brewing drink but he doesn’t bother turning to look in its direction. He tries to sniff the air instead but the congestion makes the attempt futile.

“The magic hangover cure?” he asks with careful excitement. That’s not what you call it and it’s technically not what it is, but sure, it’s magically infused and can ease a hangover for some so you nod. Lucio perks up visibly, like he always does. You wonder how much of the effect it has on him comes purely from his own mind.

Lucio sits up on the bed to wait for the drink. He leans heavily forward, propping his elbows on his legs again and burying his fingers into his hair. 

“Can you be drunk and hungover at the same time?” he asks with a hard swallow. Whatever colour he had on this face has drained away. You look from him to the cup where the drink is still brewing. It will be ready soon and it should help Lucio with any alcohol induced nausea if he can keep it in control until then.

“If you feel dizzy that’s probably the fever”, you say. Lucio makes a face of disapproval, apparently preferring this own theory. 

He downs the drink in a few long sips when you finally hand it to him. You have told him time and again to drink it slowly, but he never has the patience for that. Usually he complains when it burns on its way down and settles into his stomach like a ball of fire, but this time he doesn’t say a word. He hands you the empty cup and lies back down. He waits “patiently” for its effect to set in for almost a whole minute before looking at you accusingly.

“My head still hurts”, he whines. You roll your eyes at him.

“Be patient. Besides, you are also sick and the drink is not tailored to tackle that.”

Lucio lets out an irritated growl and whips around on the bed to bury his face into a pillow. He can only sulk there like that for a short time before he has to come up for air. He settles for hugging the pillow and pouting at your leg. You realise he isn’t shivering anymore, not since he downed the last of your drink. Maybe the heat of it is warming him from the inside rather than burning him like usual? If so you need to be careful. He’s already feverish and you don’t want to make it worse.

Suddenly, Lucio pushes himself up to a half lying position and starts to hastily look for something on the bed. Your initial confusion passes quickly as the tell tale signs of an oncoming sneeze become clear on his face. You pick up a clean handkerchief from the floor, but Lucio’s already holding another one when you turn back to him. He collapses back to a fully reclined position and turns on his side. The itch takes its time to build up to a sneeze despite Lucio’s initial hurry and he’s starting to look rather furious by the time he’s finally tipped over the edge. Four sneezes stumble out of him in quick success, followed by a small break before a fifth one.

Lucio wipes his nose with the handkerchief but he doesn’t look satisfied. He holds the now wet cloth against his nose, swiftly replacing it with the clean one when you hand it to him. He hesitates for a second and glances at you before giving his nose a long and gurgling blow that ends in a couple of small coughs. He pulls the blanket over his head, leaving only a tuft of blond hair visible. You put your hand there and give it a tousle. 

Lucio whines in response and manages to trigger a coughing fit by doing so. You suspect he might have been holding them back until then; judging by the sound the same congestion that’s filling his nose is also affecting his chest. You pull the blanket off of his face and help him sit up. Thankfully the fit isn’t too intense and ends soon enough but it still leaves Lucio a little shaky. He leans his head against you and releases a shuddering breath.

“You should have let me party this off”, he whines. “I was fine, then you came and took away all the _fun_ and now I feel like shit.”

“You feel like shit because rather than taking a day or two rest when you got sick, you decided to spend that time partying like there’s no tomorrow.”

“I didn’t feel like there’s going to be a tomorrow”, Lucio mutters. You can hardly make out what he’s saying but you do catch the important parts. You wrap an arm around him.

“It’s just a cold. You would probably be feeling better by now had you taken the time to rest.”

Lucio makes a non-committal sound and grabs you by your sleeve, pulling on it lightly. He wants to lie down and he wants you there with him. He wraps himself around you again as soon as you are stretched out on the bed.

“Shall I tell you about my trip?” you ask as he snuggles even closer. It wasn’t an exciting adventure of any kind and he knows that but he still nods. You aren’t sure which parts of your trip would be of any interest to him so you start rambling about anything that comes to mind.


End file.
